Rainbow Warriors bring in Australian prospect

In the land Down Under, “mate” is used as slang for “friend.”

But when it comes to the latest committed player for the Hawaii basketball team, “Mate” takes a different sound, if not a different meaning.

Australian center Mate Colina has pledged to join the Rainbow Warriors at the semester break during the 2017-18 season and will likely redshirt in the spring. He is expected to be made official by UH — representing its last scholarship for the year — in the coming days.

His name, of Croatian origin, is pronounced “Mahh-TEH.” Its rough translation, as it applies to UH, might as well be “big prospect for the future.”

The 6-foot-11, 230-pound Colina selected UH over Saint Mary’s — a West Coast Conference school known for regularly picking up some of the best Aussie players. While there was other interest, those were the only schools he took official visits to, he said.

Colina, who visited the Manoa campus in early July, came away impressed with UH’s facilities and the friendliness of people on the island.

“It was definitely a hard decision,” he said in a phone interview with the Star-Advertiser. “I just think opportunity and somewhere where I want to develop with the great coaching staff (swung it to UH). I feel really comfortable and supported.”

The Melbourne native was a late comer to basketball but made long strides since joining Australia’s Centre of Excellence (also known as the Institute of Sport) in Canberra two years ago, said his coach, Adam Caporn. Prior to that, Colina spent much of his time playing Australian rules football.

“He is relatively young in basketball terms,” Caporn said. “He didn’t play as a kid that much. But he’s been on a really rapid rise the last six months in particular. He’s super tough, he’s a really good worker. He’s genuinely big and strong, and he’s got some qualities that make him a really exciting modern big man. He can shoot the 3, he’s highly intelligent. We expect him to be a really good player.”

Colina will not arrive for the fall semester at UH because he still must graduate from high school at Lake Ginninderra Secondary College in December. In the meantime, he said he’ll keep training to leave without “any stone unturned” as he prepares for real action starting in 2018-19.

About a year ago, Colina played for Australia’s U-17 squad in the FIBA World Championships. He averaged 3.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 9.3 minutes per game as a reserve for the seventh-place Aussies.

“That was a steppingstone for him, really, and he really contributed well with the team,” Caporn said. “I would expect him to overtake a lot of players in that tournament with his work ethic.”

Colina is a post player first and foremost, but has the ability to step out for pick-and-pop action. Increasing his range is something he said he’s worked on consistently.

“You have to be able to play inside and out. It’s an expectation now,” Colina said. “Being able to excel in it will help out heaps.”

He is the second four-year-eligible scholarship player to select UH straight from Australia (Matt Owies). Although Owies transferred out to Seattle University this offseason, UH has another Aussie on the roster in junior forward Jack Purchase.

“I do know Jack. We’re good friends from back home,” Colina said. “I’m actually best friends with his first cousin. I saw (Jack) around a lot and it’ll be great to meet over with him. Great guy.”

UH coach Eran Ganot, a former Saint Mary’s assistant, has repeatedly stated a desire to recruit Australia heavily since his hire as head coach in 2015. Ganot cannot comment on Colina until he is made official by UH.